Buddhism - Hinayana (Theraveda) And Mahayana Branches of Buddhist Philosophy and Metaphysics

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Hinayana is recognized as the orthodox school of Buddhism and considers itself to be the true adherent to the principles set forth by Gautama Buddha. It is the older of the two schools and its texts are written in Pali, a prevalent language in India that was also used by Gautama Buddha in his teachings. It is mainly found in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, and other regions.

On the other hand, Mahayana is considered the heterodox (non-orthodox) school of Buddhism and arose later than the Hinayana branch. Its texts are primarily written in Sanskrit, and it is found mainly in China, Japan, and much of the Western world.

The two branches differ fundamentally in their approach to metaphysics. Gautama Buddha was against metaphysical speculation and instead focused on preaching a path to overcome the suffering of mankind in the world. However, after his death, discussions arose about the metaphysical position and values of Buddhism, leading to the split into the two principal branches.

Hinayana follows Realistic Metaphysics/Ontology, which recognizes the existence of the world but maintains that the phenomena of the world have no true existence or independent ground of existence. According to this approach, the world lies between full existence and non-existence, between full truth and non-reality. Thus, the suffering in this world is temporary, and one can overcome it by realizing the truth of the non-reality of the world and following the Best Path.

On the other hand, Mahayana follows Idealistic Metaphysics/Ontology, which denies the existence and reality of the world. The only thing that has existence is the observer, our consciousness. Mahayana has three schools depending on the amount of reality they are willing to concede to the ‘dream’. Sautantrika concedes that the existence of the world can be inferred from experience, while Yogachara denies the world as a dream and accepts the reality of the observer. Madhyamika is the nihilistic school of Mahayana Buddhism, which believes that the world is a dream and all our thoughts and sensations are imaginary. The final truth is Shunyata, the void that is reached by quelling our thoughts and sensations.

Despite the different schools of thought, all these schools are unified in leading up to the final objective of Nirvana, as defined by Buddhism.

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